Vegas ads, betting on gay tourists, mock straights

If you feel uncomfortable, declasse and stared-at during your next trip to Las Vegas, blame it on the gambling mecca's new ads bidding for the nation's lucrative gay tourism market.

Each one of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's new pictorials features a tag line: "Everyone's WELCOME Even straight people."

And, BTW, guess who's dropping into Sin City tomorrow? The president himself on a quick 4,200-mile day-trip aboard Air Force One. At $182,000 per flight hour that makes for a minimum $1.5 million photo op to plug his immigration reform ideas.

At that price, they better be good ideas. Obama is trying to get out in front of a coalescing bipartisan congressional plan on immigration changes. Always campaigning, the Democrat also clearly hopes the trip will help win his next election. Oh, wait. (Obama Countdown Clock now at 1,453 days.)

But back to the ads (sample above). Each of them shows hip people or cars.

And plopped into the parking lane is a fuddy-duddy station wagon. Or in the enthusiastically partying same-sex crowd an obviously out-of-place straight couple, in unfashionable clothes gawking, pouring gravy on their food or snapping photos of themselves with a disposable camera. Reminiscent of the old Sesame Street bits 'one of these things doesn't belong here.'

As everyone knows by now, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But it's one thing to go for the growing gay tourism business. Many sectors like that make up a market, like big-dollar Asian gamblers, bachelor parties, newlyweds and the family vacation crowd that Las Vegas has been trying to build for so many years.

If you feel uncomfortable, declasse and stared-at during your next trip to Las Vegas, blame it on the gambling mecca's new ads bidding for the nation's lucrative gay tourism market.

Each one of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's new pictorials features a tag line: "Everyone's WELCOME Even straight people."

And, BTW, guess who's dropping into Sin City tomorrow? The president himself on a quick 4,200-mile day-trip aboard Air Force One. At $182,000 per flight hour that makes for a minimum $1.5 million photo op to plug his immigration reform ideas.

At that price, they better be good ideas. Obama is trying to get out in front of a coalescing bipartisan congressional plan on immigration changes. Always campaigning, the Democrat also clearly hopes the trip will help win his next election. Oh, wait. (Obama Countdown Clock now at 1,453 days.)

But back to the ads (sample above). Each of them shows hip people or cars.

And plopped into the parking lane is a fuddy-duddy station wagon. Or in the enthusiastically partying same-sex crowd an obviously out-of-place straight couple, in unfashionable clothes gawking, pouring gravy on their food or snapping photos of themselves with a disposable camera. Reminiscent of the old Sesame Street bits 'one of these things doesn't belong here.'

As everyone knows by now, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But it's one thing to go for the growing gay tourism business. Many sectors like that make up a market, like big-dollar Asian gamblers, bachelor parties, newlyweds and the family vacation crowd that Las Vegas has been trying to build for so many years.

Select market data is provided by Interactive Data Corp. Real Time Services. Price and Volume data is delayed 20 minutes unless otherwise noted, is believed accurate but is not warranted or guaranteed by Interactive Data Corp. Real Time Services and is subject to Interactive Data Corp. Real Time Services terms. All times are Eastern United States. *Reflects real-time index prices.